Gryfice (pronounced Gri-fitse [ɡrɨˈfʲit͡sɛ] ⓘ; Kashubian: Grëfice; German: Greifenberg)[1] is a historic town in Pomerania, north-western Poland, with 16,600 inhabitants (2017).

In 1262 Wartislaw III, Duke of Pomerania founded a town under Lübeck law on the Rega river to attract German settlers.

After his death, his successor, Barnim I, Duke of Pomerania, named the settlement Civitat Griphemberch super Regam (Middle High German 'Griphemberch' meaning Griffin's mountain) after the coat of arms symbol of the Dukes of Pomerania.

In the 16th century, the local Germans pursued a policy of Germanisation towards the indigenous population, which, however, did not bring results quickly.

[5] At that time, some of the indigenous peasants fled to Poland,[6] while Scottish immigrants settled in the town.

Approximately 40 per cent of the town was destroyed, however many historical monuments stayed intact or were reconstructed.

With the expropriation and expulsion of the German inhabitants at the end of World War II and the occupation of the vacated buildings by Polish settlers, the majority of its population has been composed of Roman Catholics.